come full circle. has learned your respect back. lebron going all the way. >> if russell wilson played in the east coast of the united states of america he would be the face of the nfl, the face of professional sports. unbelievably great. >> i'm headed to washington to speak at george washington university. the national eating disorders awareness week. >> bringing charts and graphs of me and what i do wrong. it's way too early, stick around because we've got chuck straight ahead. blue grass blast from the past. bill clinton is set to take center stage in kentucky in his first stump stop for 2014. what's behind the former president's campaign clout 22 years after first going to the white house. and nearly a half -- nearly a century and a half after the first black senator took office, an event today honors the history he made and those who

followed in his footsteps. we'll talk to a bipartisan pair of trailblazers to mark black history month in the u.s. senate. plus the tdr 50 rolls on with our florida focus this week. today, a look at the statehouse rules that make tallahassee oddly tick. good morning from washington. it's tuesday, february 25th, 2014, this is daily rundown. imagine fdr being a factor in the 1954 mid terms. how about jfk on the campaign trail in 1982? ronald reagan stomping for candidates in 2002. if you can, you begin to realize just how unusual it is that the most powerful, sought-after political circuit in 2014 is a president who was first elected 22 years ago. bill clinton is back as as you. may have lost his second term to impeachment and gridlock. as obe wan kanobe said if you

strike me down i will become more powerful than you could imagine. he is the most active politician in the country on either side of the aisle in this calendar year of 2014. the halo effect is much more present because the current president is struggling current and his wife is expected to be the standard bearer in 2016. bill clinton is the only politician who has a 60% favorable rating in every one of the states with competitive senate contests in 2014. the last political candidate to carry states and his approval is up about 70% where senator mark pryor is trying desperately to hang on to that seat. it's a kentucky connection that actually goes back a generation. >> i've known allison a long

time. i've seen her develop into a secretary of state who is smart and strong, compassionate and effective, and kentucky through and through. >> grime sincere just 15 months older than chelsea clinton. at 14 she presented the new president, bill clinton, with a bouquet of roses while attending his inauguration. her father, a long-time clinton friend, she carried 118 of 120 counties in that primary, by the way. somewhat of a checkered past. forced to resign from the state general assembly after violating state ethics laws. jerry is like a person who would attempt to sell anything. there's an old term that we use around here. hucksterism. and i use that in a good sense. grimes, the younger, is in a race to take down the former.

though the gop is in good shape in nearly every competitive race in the country, there's one place where republicans are in bad shape. and that's in kentucky. kentucky is as red of a state as there is these days. obama's seventh worst performing state in the last election. nobody believes mitch mcconnell is ahead in this race right now. either it's a dead heat or he's trailing. he is surviving his primary challenge, louisville businessman who has the endorsements from conservative groups. freedom works. and it seems to be working still. it would be remarkable if mcconnell broke 60% in his primary and he just can't afford a major mistake like a residency issue that robert sincere dealing with. a referendum on him. it's very hard if you're the senate leader. right now mcconnell is being

hammerd with a similar message on the left and on the right. >> senator mcconnell is the biggest part of the problem. he's wasted decades, blocking legislation that would have helped kentucky and our country. and it's over the last few years he has done it for the worst possible reason, out of spite. >> bullying, threats, intimidation. the irs, no. try mitch mcconnell. the senate republican leader. don't try to full conservatives by pretending you're one of us, senator mcconnell. >> harry reid successfully made his senate race in 2010 about something other than himself. tom daschle didn't pull that off in 2004. reid led a race that was a referendum on him. the question is whether allison g grimes is a sharon engel. she certainly doesn't look like

one. ham strung by the fact that the number one issue republicans are using to attack democrats, healthcare, is performing pretty well in kentucky. still grimes describe herself as elated to get clinton's support. she spoke about that with my colleague, kasie hunt. >> i want to ask you about president barack obama. would you want him to come down and campaign for you? >> this race is one that's about putting the people of this state first, and i speak for myself and don't need any other surrogate to do that. i stand in stark contrast to the president and many of his ideas and platforms. >> national republicans has cast you as obama girl and one of their national spokespeople referred to you as an empty dress. do you think those are appropriate? had how do you respond to that? >> it's about as accurate as mitch mcconnell be a chippendale dancer. >> get that visual out of your head there a minute. mcconnell is doing his best to

rebut through a campaign spokesperson who says democrats have brought bill clinton to kentucky for nearly every election since he was president. and every time bill comes to kentucky, he's left with mitch mcconnell receiving nearly 100,000 votes more than him or his chosen candidate. mcconnell is getting some backup from the tea party surrogate he is clinging to for dear life, fellow kentucky senator rand paul. >> i think workplace violence is a serious thing. think about your network. if the president of your network had relations with a 20-year-old girl, who was there from college, i think the president of your network would be fired. we don't accept that in the workplace and so if that's what bill clinton, you know, did multiple times, really, they ought to be concerned about being associated with him. >> now, paul's attack may have originally have been about his own national ambitions as it was about kentucky. he stumbled in a strategy that

conservatives hope will dampen bill clinton nostalgia. dredging up bill clinton's past has never hurt hillary clinton. frankly, it usually helps her. it could hurt bill clinton's personal numbers. remember who the swing vote is in many of these elections, older white women. nbc contributor has been covering this race for the last couple of days. you were at the rand paul event, and the bill clinton comments that rand paul continues to dabble in. yes, he was first asked about it by members of the press. but he seems very comfortable making this attack on bill clinton. >> reporter: he does, chuck. he double downed those remarks again yesterday. he was asked about the remarks and he said clinton does not represent kentucky values. he went on for a while, criticizing the former president again. he made his comments four or five times and seems very

comfortable making them. >> let me ask you this. so, it was interesting to hear grimes in that individuvideo. have you seen her on the campaign trail? obviously, republicans are trying to -- they're desperately trying to see if she will stumble. they want to make this race about her. she's been very guarded. is she coming across too guard or are republicans having some success at trying to make her sort of get out of her comfort zone? >> reporter: so far, she's been able to stay very much in her comfort zone. we talked about the minimum wage and very popular issues like that and talk about mitch mcconnell. i know talking to reporters here yesterday they feel like they're covering two candidates who don't talk to the press, don't answer questions. mitch mcconnell being one. allison grimes being the other. they tried to nail her down about what exactly she would change in obamacare. her statement is always it's not working. she won't go into much detail and no one has been able to nail her down on that. if she's trying to run a campaign and be as vague as

possible on liberal issues where kentuckyans are not with her and talk about mitch mcconnell as much as possible. >> the kentucky exchange is working, arguably, better than any. it was the first one that seemed to be up and running and working while the federal government was trying to get its act together. does this make it hard er for mcconnell to run against healthcare? i think i saw a stat. more people have signed up in kentucky through the healthcare exchange there in that state than actually voted for barack obama in 2012. >> reporter: yeah. i was out in eastern kentucky, in some of those coal mining counties where obama is very unpopular. i was in perry county where literally more people have health insurance under the law in the last four months than voted for obama in 2012. when i was talking to people there, mcconnell will have an easy time talking to the issues because there's still a very strong visceral reaction to

president obama and even people who have enrolled in the healthcare law, they still complain about obama, obamacare and think it might go away soon and people talk about the prices going up. so, right now it's an issue where mcconnell is still talking about it. mcconnell talks about he wants to repeal the lieu. if you ask grimes about it, she's often looking to change the subject. mcconnell is talking about obamacare and repeal a lot still here. >> and the conservative challenger in mitch mcconnell, it seems as if they really -- the mcconnell people drew some blood with finding this comment that bevin made about supporting the t.a.r.p., supporting the infamous bailout of 2008 when he was an investor. >> reporter: that's taken the bevin campaign -- i was there, talking to their staff here. they thought they were gaining momentum. that definitely set them back some.

bevin is basically polling in the 20s right now. the primary is not till may. there's room for him to gain. the problem right now is he is undefined. most republicans in kentucky don't know much about him. mcconnell is doing a better job of filling in the gaps and casting him as kind of the person who became a tea partier fairly recently. the bailout comments being the best example of that. mcconnell is a bigger staff, stronger staff. he prepared for this for a long time and he's ready. >> no question about it. no tougher campaigner in kentucky history perhaps than mitch mcconnell. perry bacon jr. in louisville for us on the ground, covering that race. thank you, sir. >> reporter: thank you. still to come here in snowy washington, here we go again. yes, that is not file footage behind me, folks. that is what's actually taking place here in washington. here we go again. anyway, what jeb bush is saying about the clintons, coming up.

just how many african-americans have served in the senate. two of those trailblazers will be on my set. news nation with tamron hall has a new home at 11:00 am. andrea mitchell is at noon. new shows, ronan farrow daily at 1:00. and at 2:00 pm, the reid report. interesting thing with the daily planner. let's move campaign talks about banning the marketing of junk food in schools nationwide. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. helps reduce the risk of heart disease. keep heart-healthy. live long. eat the 100% goodness of post shredded wheat. doctors recommend it. some brokerage firms are but way too many aren't. why? because selling their funds makes them more money. which makes you wonder. isn't that a conflict? search "proprietary mutual funds".

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senator was sworn into office 140 years ago today. first african-american senator was hiram revels. it was up to the state legislature to elect both the state senators. on february 25th, 1870, "the new york times" reported that the entire u.s. senator, including the spectators in the galleries stood to see him sworn in. he finished out that session of congress and went home after only one year in office. the next african-american was elected into the senate five years later from the same state. senator blanch bruce was born into slavery, fled to freedom in kansas and returned to mississippi after emanemancipat. he actually received 11 votes for vice president. the next african-american wasn't elected to the senate for another 86 years after bruce

left office. republican senator ed brook, represented a largely white constituency in massachusetts from 1967 to 1979. he was the only african-american in the senate at the time he did caucus with what was a record high 13 african-american members of the u.s. house. senator brooks' term ended in 1979. 20 years later he was awarded the congressional medal of honor. >> he broke down barriers that had stood for generations. he was a model to african-americans and to all americans of his day. >> we've given this congressional gold medal to george washington, to thomas edison, to jonas salk. you're in good company now that senator brook has joined that club. >> there was a long decade, first african-american woman democrat senator carol mose

mosely-braun. taking the senate as a whole, numbers are stunning 2% of the senate is represented by african-americans. only nine african-american senators in u.s. history. a nonpartisan event will honor our past and celebrate our future. i'm joined by two of the events organizers and two of those nine african-american senators. gentlemen, welcome to both of you. >> thank you very much. >> senator scott, why do this event? what was the impetus? >> what would be unusual for me, a republican, to reach out to some of my good friends on the other side with affection? >> usually -- i was going to

say, code for something else. >> i'm putting this event together. i need your support. if you're going to do this with me this could be a very successful event. black history really is about american history. and if we're going to do it right we should focus on the fact that this country has come a long way, especially in the last 10 to 20 years when it comes to electing folks and presenting an opportunity to young kids growing up in poverty. here is an opportunity to say in this country all things are possible. >> in a couple of days, senator cowen, president obama will talk about what essentially a lot of people said he was going to become, this role model for african-americans, elected into the presidency, african-american

senators being elected. is the glass half full or half empty? >> i think we're still on a journey, evolutionary journey. we've come a long way. no dousht there's still a long ways to go. i do think we need to pay greater attention to the plight of young plaque men in this country, to offer them promise and possibility and to talk about self realization. i'm proud of that effort. i hope it is as successful as some other things he has embarked upon. we're not where we need to go, where i want us to be. we're well on our way. today's celebration is part of that as well, to evidence that as black people in this country have progressed, so have our political viewpoints, nonpartisan event. i love the fact that we're representing the political spectrum today at the library of congress. >> what's interesting here -- i want to get to the south in a minute. massachusetts, you're not the first african-american senator from massachusetts. that in itself is interesting.

not exactly a very large african-american population. has an african-american governor. states pretty color blind. there was a time when it was not a color blind city. why do you think massachusetts has gone -- >> being elected post reconstruction to the senate, a great public servant, served well at the state level. massachusetts voters are very sophisticated electorate and vote on values and vote for people who espouse and live those values and they've been open, certainly in recent times, to looking at things a little differently than perhaps other parts of the country and not just judging books by their cover. i think you've seen that with our governor, duvall patrick. i'm proud to be the second black senator from massachusetts. i'm also the second black senator from north carolina. that's where i was born and so

was hiram revels, the first senator. >> the south is a different story. there's been -- you're poised to make history. you are pointed but you're poised to make history. the assumption is that you'll win this special election that you're in. it's been a tougher journey for african-americans to win in the south. >> i remember those days, actually. i'll tell you the truth. what we see in the south happening today are more people of color aligning themselves with the issues that are important in the south. and the outing is a big red area of the country. and so if you're not a conservative who understands and articulates conservative values, the chances of you having success, black or white, is rare. we see that in our state where every constitutional office holder today are republicans. so the fact of the matter is, it's as much about values and issues as any other thing.

to be reminded, i was elected to congress in the birthplace of the civil war, charleston. that tells me that we have come a long way. >> the other part of that it seems to me -- i'm curious what you both think. i think we're all of the same generation, gengen-xers. >> i'm 22. >> once that generation slowly dies off, then suddenly we're just less racially divided? is it just generational? what do you think it is? >> hope fi hope we never forget part of our past. >> i don't mean forget it but -- >> democrats, independents

because it's part of our rich culture. it's been painful at times. i don't think we need that swren ration to move on. i think that generation needs to encourage every generation after it, as should ours, to get engaged in civic life, to become involved in this thing we call our government and recognize the government is supposed to work for all of us. i think that we need more of that. and we need to encourage more people of color, more african-americans, more latino-americans to embrace civic life so they can take greater control of their own lives and make sure the government is working well for everyone, the way that it should. >> i see it differently. honestly, my base of support comes from people over the age of 55. i do really well with folks who are in retirement ages. >> as a republican. >> as a republican. >> they look at you as a republican first and not an african-american? >> that tells me the evolution of the issue of race has changed dramatically since the '50s, '40s, perhaps even the '60s.

when i go around the state, knocking on doors, going into restaurants or businesses, the older folks are, tim scott. and they're excited to be a part of what seems to be history in south carolina, which we don't think about race first. we think about issues. we think about values. they're excited to support someone who they believe has their values and i find that refreshing. >> before i let you go -- i'm curious of what your thoughts are of this bill in arizona that the governor is dealing with, that would allow religious beliefs to be used to potentially discriminate against gay couples. do you think a bill like that should be law? >> to be honest with you, i haven't followed the issue so i don't know it well enough to say yes or no to it. >> senator cowan, do you know this issue well? >> not well, but i know it well enough to say that's a step backwards. there's a way to show fidelity and respect to people's religious beliefs that doesn't

lead to purposeful zrimtry conduct. any law that does something like that is no law that any governor, governor brewer or anyone else, should sign their name to. that's a step backward in this nation. we're a country about moving forward. our laws should do that. this law does not do that. >> senator cory booker will be at your event today? >> he will be there today. >> the president is not making it? >> there's another issue that's taking up his attention right now. >> thank you. >> thank you. up next, some new rules for school. first lady michelle obama is proposing a big change to especialkeep kids healthy. a long list of awards that hillary clinton is receiving since she left the state department. today's trivia question, how many states have more electoral votes than florida?

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time now for the data bank. we start with the increasing pressure on arizona governor jan brewer over a bill that's been criticized as anti-gay. the number 49, as in super bowl xlix. let business deny service to gay and lesbian customers as long as they assert their he religious beliefs. it's drawn criticism, pitting the arizona cardinals against the legislature. governor brewer is expected to make a decision about the bill later this week. she can sign it, veto it or do nothing and let it become law

automatically. john mccain and jeff flank have come out against it. the super bowl may be what put this is over the top. she wanted to see if she could change the law to run again. that's unlikely to happen. now without the force of a primary, she may feel more comfortable vetoing the bill. up next, 13. as in a percentage point there. that's how much secretary hagel wants to pair back the military, to focus more on special operations and cyber security. we'll see where this goes. continue to see lawmakers are set up to fight these cutbacks big time. sequester is the reason why they're all having to operate under an interesting number. by the way, no actual cuts, just slowdowns in the increase in spending on the defense department.

moving on, speaking of cutbacks, the next number is zero. when it comes to junk food, first lady michelle obama says she wants to ban junk food and put healthy posters in their place all part the of her let's move campaign. this is something a lot of school districts have been doing on their own. it's not been a national nationwide effort. she wanted to make it an effort today. hillary clinton bears an award, the second year the georgetown institute for women peace and security will be presenting an award in hillary clinton's name. we've been telling you about awards normally that she gets during this post secretary of state pre2016 tour. we end with another candidate who could have plans to run for 2016. number one or the first, vice

president joe biden appeared on the first seth myers show. i decided tonight is your night. >> thank you. >> so hopefully, you'll invite me back. >> and, amy, your 2016 plans? >> oh, i'm going to run for president. >> okay, great. >> we'll see how amy poehler fa fares against her favorite guy, joe biden. we're shining a spotlight on the sunshine state. it is a balmy 80 degrees in tallahassee today. up next, deep dive into what makes tallahassee such a tricky place to work as our "tdr 50" rolls on.

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all week for the rest of the year, we'll be doing lots of state focus. this week, of course, we're looking at florida, first of 50 states we're spotlighting. florida legislature does

business. something voters approved in 1992 when they decided that lawmakers should only be able to serve eight years in state office. it's created something of a butterfly effect in the state office. legislators end up getting caught up in a political revolving door with little time to build up any institutional knowledge. real understanding of the place too often resides with staffers, lobbyists and reporters and has even created a process for choosing the house speaker that some have described -- i have described as bizarre and others have called it potentially dangerous. by the time they reach their last two years in office, six years in advance. you get a person like eric eisnogle.

36-year-old lawmaker simultaneously running for a seat in orange county and to be the speaker of the house in 2021. equally as bizarre, next three speakers have already been picked. republicans who control both houses of the legislature designate designated steve crisafulli and two other successors. florida's former senate president tony jenny said talk about the tail wagging the dog. the tail is so ahead of itself, it can't even see the dog anymore. term limits extending from eight years to 12, but florida currently described the outlook of that measure as beyond doubtful. voters like term limits in general and trying for more time in office looks self serving. that's what some members will try to do during an election year. it's home to five of the top 50 tv markets in the country,

forcing candidates to raise huge money to stay competitive. in the 2010 cycle, average candidate raised $117,000, average florida senate raised $264,000. despite being such a big state, florida's legislature is incredibly weak, folks. legislators work part time, meet 60 calendar days a year, on par with much less populous states like utah and west virginia. time and trouble, they get an annual salary of just under $30,000 a year, about as much as your average substitute teacher. tallahassee bureau chief for the tampa bay times, has covered every florida governor and legislature for the past 26 years. steve, i have been, as a floridian, i think this is the most bizarre, weird system that has developed over the past

years where we should mention marco rubio, former florida house speaker. this idea of electing speakers before they even step foot in the state capital as a state representative seems like a recipe for potential corruption. >> it is. it's a bad system, chuck. and it's going to continue, because -- it's all related to term limits. they're running for speaker before they get elected. they're building relationships out in florida. when they get here they have the votes and they're bound to be speaker. being speaker of the florida house is a ticket to financial success if you decide to go into lobbying when your legislative days are over. the house has gotten younger and younger due to term limits and people spend all their time climbing the ladder. >> we've talked about the different -- the legislature here. on one hand it's incredibly strong as far as being able to push -- being able to stop rick scott and things he wants to do or pushing him to do some things that he may not want to do.

i'm thinking of medicaid expansion. as a whole because it is so partisan and powerful, the legislature is powerful. yet individually, the system makes its weak and makes the lobbyists powerful. >> that's right. there are a couple of other factors at work here. first of all, you have the geographic isolation of tallahassee. tallahassee is closer to atlanta or new orleans than it is to the big population center down there in south florida, where about a third of the people in florida live. >> right. >> secondly, a very insidious development is the fact that individual members here under our campaign finance system, individual legislators can control political committee with his no limit fund-raising. they can take $100,000 in contribution from individuals, which made the money even more than an obsession. >> yet this is for a job that's part time, 60 days. have there been any movements to make florida -- to basically stop acting as if florida is a backwater state and get into the 21st century and have a more

relevant legislature, that actually meets more than 60 days a year? >> it's a very tough sell. i've written about this in the tampa bay times and readers throw the newspaper at me. >> i know. >> because you're arguing, in effect, for more government. >> more government. i know. >> this is a state that doesn't like a lot more government. >> well zbl-- >> the other thing is, the florida legislature has had a reputation for a long time of having a really solid, professional staff that's one of the best staffed legislatures in the country. >> should -- part of the problem, would it be so sort of looking at this askew if the two parties were more competitive? this is also a -- the gerrymandering that took place. this is a 50/50 state. as competitive as it gets. last two gubernatorial

electrics, last two presidential elections showed us. if there were more partisan checks and balances, do you think we wouldn't have these campaign for speakership for 2021 taking place on the ballot this year in 2014? >> absolutely. and i've covered the arc of this legislature, when i started covering this legislature as a reporter, the democrats have the overwhelming majority that is republicans have now. and they began in the 1992 redistricting when -- it's a long story, but basically republicans were able to call out african-american democrats and get a lot of districts to run in their advantage. this is florida, where republicans control two-thirds of the house, have a strong majority in the senate. that's not the 50/50 state you see and hear about in florida. >> and does anything with the new ballot initiative that did pass in 2012 and some of it has to do with congressional redistricting, will that have any impact on the state house and the state senate?

>> absolutely. you're talking about the two district that is largely got on the ballot and passed overwhelmingly. you cannot draw districts for partisan political advantage to favor a party or individual frankly that have a positive effect in the sense that it has made some of the house seats along the i-4 corridor a little more competitive. republicans have these big majorities. they've got vast superiority in fund-raising. they tend to recruit better candidates than the democrats with these house districts, chuck. the democrats just have to sort of chip away, cycle by cycle to get more competitive. but a more competitive legislature here would be a dramatic change at the state's politics. >> sure would and might create a check and balance in the tallahassee. the tallahassee bureau chief, long-time miami herald reporter as well. pleasure to have you on the show, sir. >> thank you very much. thanks, chuck. >> much more on the daily

rundown ahead. jeb take ace little jab at the clintons, and himself. and the white house weighs in on one of the comedy greats. white house soup of the day. you've been asking for it. turkey lentil. we'll be right back. , well in tk to vacation mode. ♪boots and pants and boots and pants♪ ♪and boots and pants and boots and pants♪ ♪and boots and pants... voice-enabled bill pay. just a tap away on the geico app. ♪ huh, 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. yup, everybody knows that. well, did you know that some owls aren't that wise. don't forget about i'm having brunch with meagan tomorrow. who? seriously, you met her like three times. who? geico.

daily flashback. i wanted to have this one -- i actually requested. an underdog by the name of casius clay defeated sonny liston. he changed his name to muhammad ali and, as they say, the rest is history. 50 years ago today. sorry to make some of you folks feel a little old this morning. harold ramis created and act ing in some of the funniest movies. i'm not sure i spoke a word that wasn't a quote from a 1980

movie. so president obama, who grew up in that era, paid tribute to the writer, director and actor. when we watched hishouse," cadd ghost busters, ground hog's day, we rooted for the underdog and through it all, never lost our faith and happy endings. that was president obama and michelle obama in their statement honoring the passing of harold ramis, who was just 69 years old. up enext, the formation of new government that had been planned for today has been put off until thursday. it speaks to the political tension that still exists in this monumental task of trying to fill all the vacant government posts, because in addition, there have been pro russian demonstrations now showing up in the southern part of the country, yanukovych himself is wanted in the murder

of protesters. this morning, the new parliament formed a plan to have the former president tried at the international criminal court. trivia time, two states have more electoral votes than florida, texas with 38, and california with 55. florida and new york each have 29. that was our trick question there. many of you included new york in there, florida and new york, technically tied. send your trivia suggestions to us. this is interesting.

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will hillary, by the way. >> well, as jeb bush continues to feel speculation over whether or not he will run in 2016, today's takeaway looks at how his race for governor could have changed american history and the republican party as we know it today. i talked about the 1998 state election that brought us katherine harris that in the beginning of the race had the democrat as the favorite and how it could have changed the recount and who certified. well, 1994, we may have had a different bush if things went differently. chiles political career spanned 20 years. bush supporters accused of engaging in dirty politics, saying the chiles folks made thousands of calls saying bush wanted to cut social security and medicare. chiles apologized for the phone calls but ended up winning by

two points. of course, things could have gone differently. i had viewers say, imagine if jeb had won that race 20 years ago, you got to wonder, would he have been the republican bush and presidential nominee in 2000 instead of his brother, texas governor george w. bush, would it have been jeb, not george? would we be speculating today about former texas governor george w. bush was weighing a run for the white house? 2016? as the bureaucratic tipped us off to this race argues, jeb bush may have been the greatest missed opportunity for the gop in a century, so which way do you think were the most significant in your state, which ones were butterfly effect races, like the two i described over the last two days? let us know, we're going to have a lot of fun, tweet us with the #tdr50 for more. that's it for this edition of "the daily rundown." coming up next, chris jansing. after that, you know the new lineup. see you tomorrow.

i'm meteorologist bill karins, and once again, it feels more like mid-january to middle to late february. the northern plains are seeing some of the coldest air they've seen since the big arctic outbreak in january. 7 degrees, that's it in minneapolis, the cold air spilling to kansas city, st. louis, and chicago and soon will be felt in the northeast as we end this week. car and hotel together to save even more. plus, get an extra $100 when you build your custom trip. expedia, find yours.

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check out the white house at this very moment, a snowy morning at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. president obama and speaker john boehner meeting behind closed doors in the oval office today, that's in about an hour. we're going to go to the white house for a live interview with the top economic adviser. and former president bill clinton is in kentucky today trying to unseat mitch mcconnell. that's a big move for democrats and it's drawing strong pushback from kentucky's junior senator. we're going to take you down south to the tempest in louisville. and politics broke out right here at nbc headquarters in new york last night, vice president joe biden stopped by late night with seth meyers and brought jokes. >> i was planning on making a major announcement